New Smith MBAs Compete in Live Case Competition

Is it better for PepsiCo to dress up “Naked” or square a circle? The MBA Class of 2018 at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business got their first taste of corporate consulting, data analysis and the whirlwind pace of business school life during the MBA Orientation Live Case Competition on Friday, August 19, 2016.

Students were assigned to teams and given details of the case on Wednesday evening, which dealt with challenges faced by PepsiCo. Sales of carbonated beverages were in decline due to changes in consumer preferences, and the company wanted to grow revenue from club stores like Costco.

Smith clinical professor of management Neta Moye, who worked with PepsiCo executives to identify and develop the issues discussed in the case, said that live cases give students the opportunity to work on a problem that is relevant and current.

“This is an invaluable way for incoming students to get a peek behind the scenes of a real corporation, and to get a sense of the breadth and scope of the challenges it faces,” said Moye.

Teams had until Friday morning to review the case documents, conduct background research, formulate a solution and prepare presentations.

PepsiCo executives were available to answer questions. During private meetings, teams sought out information and data that would buttress their conclusions (or point them in a different direction).

Five teams progressed to the final round, which was judged by three PepsiCo vice presidents who brought insight into the background of the case: Eric Hanson, vice president of revenue, strategy and management; Becca Kerr ’98, MBA/MS ’04, vice president of sales; and Alex Baxter, vice president of supply chain planning.

The judges peppered each team with questions: How are you accounting for the decline of the soda market on Pepsi’s revenue? How will your bottle redesign impact logistics? How did you decide on this pricing strategy? What data do you have to support your recommendation?

The “A-team” recommended re-branding PepsiCo’s “Naked” juice products to appeal to a premium, high-end market, and using QR codes to engage millennial consumers with interactive content.

Another team used the Dingman Center to connect with an alumnus who sold a promising new product in the health and wellness category. “PCG Consulting” proposed that PepsiCo add the relaxation drink Baku to their club store product line-up. Team 12 also recommended new products for club stores, focusing on Starbuck cold brew coffee and Aquafina sparkling water drinks.

“RHS Consulting Group” took an entirely different approach, discussing a supply chain optimization strategy that would involve making Pepsi bottles square rather than round, and moving from a direct-to-store delivery to warehouse delivery system.

But it was Team 18 that proposed the winning solution: that Pepsi bundle its stronger-selling products with weaker-selling beverages in club stores, such as a Quaker oatmeal and Tropicana orange juice bundle aimed at parents planning breakfast.

Congratulations to the winning teams:

1st Place: Team 18

• Tanay Natarajan
• William Woska
• Kate Christman
• Myounghun Lee
• John DeVita

2nd Place: Team 14

• Younguk Han
• Evan Klondar
• Gbogbo Nina Marie-Laure Kouadio
• Andrew Graf
• Brittani Hradsky

3rd Place: Team 6

• Ke Zhang
• Adrianna Wolaver
• Brian Nickols
• Karan Deshmukh
• Stephen Viamari

The Smith School is grateful for the support and involvement of our alumni and friends at PepsiCo.

Final Round Judges:

• Eric Hanson, VP, Revenue Strategy & Management
• Becca Kerr, VP, Sales (undergrad '98, MBA/MS '04)
• Alex Baxter, VP, Supply Chain Planning
• Preliminary Round Judges:
• Katie Collett, Director, Large Format Sales Strategy
• Tony Profili '86, Director, Merchandising & Execution
• Linda Bowers, Supply Chain, Sr. Manager Demand
• Gregg Sterling '95, GM Sr. Market Director
• Mike Wojcikiewicz, Director, Category Leadership
• Case writing and Q&A sessions:
• Brad Shane, Sr. Analyst, PepsiCo Sales Finance
• Jeremy Rosall, Sr. Director, Revenue Strategy
• Vanessa Evans, Customer Management AAM
• Hunter Pavlik, Key Account Manager (MBA '13)

For more information about the Smith MBA program, visit www.rhsmith.umd.edu/mba.

- Rebecca Winner, Office of Marketing Communications